


In Plain Sight - A Harry Potter Next Generation Story

by ALEAHisLaZy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Gryffindor, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, Magic, Mystery, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Slytherin Harry Potter, Wizarding World (Harry Potter), Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24627826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALEAHisLaZy/pseuds/ALEAHisLaZy
Summary: During her fifth year at Hogwarts, Linda Malfoy (Scorpius Malfoy's twin sister) begins to have terrible unprecedented nightmares followed by the gradual loss of her vision. Her mother provides her  with prescription glasses, but rather than helping her vision they seem to be allowing her to see concealed truths. Meanwhile, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is having private meetings with Iris, concealed as tutoring sessions, to solicit her help with a secret mission. This mission concerns two things: Linda, and the gold serpent ring that has been on her finger her entire life.





	1. In Dreams

Linda woke up panting from a horrible nightmare. It took her a moment to remember she was in her dormitory in the Slytherin house. The curtains around her four-poster bed were closed, which made it difficult to regain her bearings. She threw them open to feel less suffocated as she took deep breaths to try and slow her racing heartbeat. She checked the clock on her bedside table. It was four in the morning.

Luckily, the girls in her room hadn't been awoken. She felt quite uneasy when unwanted attention was drawn towards her. Especially, since the recurring nightmares she'd been having weren't something she could explain to herself never mind anybody else. She was also worried she'd be sent to St-Mungo's hospital if anyone discovered what they were about. For now, she did what she did best. She ignored her problem. As long as she didn't think about it, it didn't exist.

She felt uneasy about her chances of making it down into the common room without waking up her roommates. So, she laid back down and stared at the ceiling, trying to clear her thoughts.

These vivid nightmares had been occurring for a few days now, ever since the start of Linda's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She could barely remember them, but she would wake up frightened and left with a horrible feeling of grief. They were unlike anything she had experienced in the past. She isn't sure she'd ever even had a nightmare before. She was pretty calm as a kid. Her parents, Astoria and Draco Malfoy, always said she could sleep through anything. She never once woke up during her twin brother Scorpius' colic that he had as a toddler. It's pretty uncommon for a two-year-old to have colic, which is why Linda's been making fun of him for it for 15 years. Through all kinds of disturbances, Linda would remain sound-asleep. She liked to think of herself as Sleeping Beauty. Scorpius preferred calling her a log.

At that moment, she did feel like a log. She lay there, paralyzed, her green eyes staring blankly at the ceiling until the feelings from her nightmare faded away, and she could drift off to sleep once more.

The next morning, Linda descended for breakfast in the Great Hall without stopping to speak to anyone. Nobody was important enough to increase the time that separated her from her biscuits. Her morning routine was limited to throwing her school robe on and untying her long brown hair that cascaded so effortlessly, or perhaps with a bit of magic.

The enchanted ceiling indicated clear sky's outside, a nice view, which helped to wash away the bitter aftertaste of her difficult night. She found a seat next to her brother Scorpius. His cloudy grey eyes only granted her a split-second glance as he was busy indulging in his fresh plate of eggs and sausage. Linda grabbed a biscuit and took a bite out of it as she sat down. She paid no attention to anything but the food in front of her. It was Alec who broke her trance.

"Well... hello to you too," said Alec with a cheeky grin. "I don't know what it is with you two. You'd think the Malfoys starve you the way you eat." Scorpius' best friend, Alec, had dark brown hair that he slicked back to make himself seem posher than he was. Just wait. You'll see what I mean.

Linda replied with her mouth half-full, "Food is a luxury. Enjoy it while your young."

Alec sighed. "Whatever you say. Just let me know when I can start talking!" he said with excitement.

Linda and Scorpius exchanged a cautionary glance. Once they had finished up eating, Linda wiped her mouth with surprisingly good manners, and addressed Alec: "Alright, go ahe-"

"Have you seen the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?!" Alec spat out without even letting Linda finish.

"No. Is he hot?" asked Linda apathetically while pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"No! I mean... I don't know, I guess he is kind of –"

"What's the point?" Scorpius interrupted sternly.

"Right. Sorry. As I was saying... I overheard a few students talking about an odd scar that he has on his left arm. They say he got it from battling his fair share of dangerous creatures. But he's not fooling me," Alec leaned and whispered. "I know he's a Death Eater."

Linda spit out her pumpkin juice. "Are you mad?" she retorted a bit too loud, awarding her a few looks from other Slytherins nearby.

"Alec. That's impossible. They're all either dead, locked up, or in hiding," said Scorpius.

"Yea, and I'm sure Hogwarts is their number one hiding place," claimed Linda.

"Fine, don't believe me," Alec said with his hands up in surrender. "All I'm saying is people tend to ignore what's right under their noses."

"The only thing under my nose right now is the plate of biscuits that just appeared, and I can assure you they will not be ignored," Linda scoffed.

Scorpius reached for one, but Linda slapped his hand away and shot him a disdainful look before grabbing a bunch from the top of the pile. She placed a few in the pockets of her robe for later. She worked up quite a hunger walking up and down all the staircases and she liked to be prepared.

"There's barely any left now," Scorpius complained.

"Awn. Is baby Scorp going to cry?" said Linda.

"Are you ever going to drop that?"

"Not till the day you die."

"Who's to say I'm going to die first?"

"Well if you don't, I'll make sure that you're haunted by the incessant sound of a wailing infant every last second you're alive, and then you'll wish it had been you first."

"You're terrible."

"At least, I'm not terrible looking", replied Linda with a Scornful smile. Scorpius just shook his head, and Alec pretended not to hear. He knew he was only in for trouble if he ever came between the two siblings bickering. Linda got up from her seat.

"Alright, I'm off. See you later. Or not." And with that, Linda stormed off down the Great Hall.

Once Linda was out of earshot, Alec spoke: "That was harsh."

Scorpius shrugged. "Don't be stupid. It's just Linda."

"But she's getting worse. Has she mentioned anything?"

"Not since we were 12. Maybe it's Potter or something." He nodded towards the direction of the Gryffindor table. "Look at him he's got a sour face."

"He always looks like that Scorpius."

"Oh... Well, that's unfortunate."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Look, knowing her, I doubt it's because of Albus."

"Then why don't you ask her?" said Scorpius while throwing his potions textbook open to indicate that he wasn't interested in continuing their conversation. He did not enjoy discussing matters concerning his sister, and especially not when it came to Albus Potter.

The following day had not been more forgiving with Linda. Transfigurations was her first class of the day, and she was seated at the back of the room next to Albus. Albus had straight black hair and green eyes much like her own. Except, Albus' eyes were his fathers, while Linda's were always a source of constant discussion for neither Draco nor Astoria had green eyes.

Professor McGonagall was teaching the class about Vanishment, which was a major subject in fifth year Transfiguration. It is one of the hardest spells on the O.W.L examinations. As she was explaining to them the proper wand position for the evanesko spell, which makes objects disappear by breaking down their atoms, and making them impossible to be reformed, Linda began acting rather strange. She kept inching forward ever so slightly until she was leaning over most of her desk with her chair tilted forward. Albus turned to her and raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her chosen position and how she kept squinting and contorting her face. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought she had taken some expired Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes candy that was making her lose control of her muscles. His uncle George had once used him as a test subject to see what the effects of expired candy were. His face was bloated and scrunched up for three days. It's possible the effects never fully wore off.

Albus leaned forward to meet her eyes. "Lin," he whispered. Linda looked at him. Their faces were inches apart.

"Al," she answered while her face was still contorted. Albus chuckled, "What the hell is wrong with your face?"

Linda suddenly relaxed her face. "What are you talking about? You're the one making the sour face."

"I'm not making a face."

"Oh." Linda looked away and sat back down properly on her chair. She crossed her arms and looked forward choosing to ignore his question.

Albus turned towards her and put his arm on the back of her chair. "What's wrong Linda?" he said looking into her eyes and shooting a glance at McGonagall to make sure she hadn't seen them.

Linda sighed. "McGonagall's blurry."

Albus looked over at Professor McGonagall who, to him, appeared in perfect high definition. He thought she may have performed some sort of vanishing spell on herself until he realized what Linda meant. "Glasses?"

"Yea, I guess. It's just weird. One day to the next, I just can't see."

"It's probably nothing, just go get checked out."

Linda nodded and pondered for a moment. "I think I'll pull off glasses pretty well," she said with a smirk.

Albus chuckled, but before he could respond...

"Potter! Malfoy! The class is happening in front of the room, not gazing into each other's eyes."

The class erupted into laughter. Albus turned red while Linda sneered at Scorpius' mocking look of amusement from the other side of the classroom. Alec, who was sitting next to Scorpius, was the only one not laughing.

"Settle down!"

McGonagall returned to her lecture, and Linda, leaning back in her chair as she had given up on trying to see, began spinning the ring on her left hand. It was a gold serpent with ruby eyes that wrapped around her ring finger. She had had it for as long as she could remember and was never seen without it.

Albus shifted his attention to his desk where he began sketching something on a piece of parchment. After several minutes, he folded up the paper and handed it to Linda from under their desks. She opened it as discreetly as possible. It was a flattering drawing of Linda with glasses on. A written note underneath read: "You'd pull off glasses."

Later that day, Linda was sitting up front in her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year. She may have had a particular interest for that class, and been slightly intrigued by Alec's rumours, though she would never admit it, however, there was only one reason she chose to sit up front that day. She showed up early to make sure she could see the contents of the class this time. She glanced over her shoulder waiting for Iris, to make sure she didn't miss her as they were used to sitting in the back. Iris was one of the first friend's that Linda made at Hogwarts. She was a smart-ass Ravenclaw, whom Linda could not survive without, but again, she would never admit it.

Iris showed up about a minute before the class started. She had pale skin and choppy, chin-length blond hair that she had chosen to tie back with a pink scarf, leaving just a strand to frame her face. Her eyes were framed by her thick judgmental eyebrows and her ears were accessorized with multiple gold piercings.

She walked down the length of the class rather slowly before finding her seat next to Linda. She looked at her suspiciously before sitting down.

"I don't think I have ever walked down the aisle in this class. What's with the change of scenery?"

"I just thought the class should get a look at my other angles. I've deprived them for so long." Linda tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder.

"If you say so. I'm not complaining."

The door from the office at the front of the class burst open and a stone-cold aura emanated from their professor as he walked to the front of the class. The chattering died down immediately as he glanced around the room. When his gaze landed on Linda it lingered for a second before he looked away and began to speak.

"I am professor Saxum, your new instructor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said stoically.

He pulled out his wand to write his name on the standing chalkboard. As he did so, the sleeve of his robe slid down slightly, and Linda could indeed see a thin red mark climbing up his exposed forearm. After the historical Battle of Hogwarts, when Voldemort was defeated, the Death Eater's Dark Marks turned into a faint scar. Linda laughed internally at the thought of Alec's conspiracy. "A Death Eater? Yeah right," she thought. "He probably just fell out of a tree when he was a kid."

He began their first lesson on magical objects designed to be used in the defence against the dark arts, otherwise known as Dark Detectors. He wasted no time before beginning his explanation as he pulled an object out from behind his desk. It was a long piece of metal that looked like a golden antenna. It almost looked like one of those mundane objects they were given in transfigurations to practice their transformation spells on.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?" asked Professor Saxum while holding up the object.

A few hands shot straight up, notably Scorpius, and Iris', others were raising their hands more hesitantly feeling quite intimidated.

Saxum scanned the room slowly, ignoring all the hands. His gaze met Linda's, who was sitting back with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Linda!" he called out, as Linda registered the unusual usage of her surname by a professor. "You seem quite interested. How about you tell me what I'm holding and what it does."

"It's a probity probe," she said without hesitation. "It's used to detect concealment spells or hidden magical objects."

The corner of Saxum's lip curled ever so slightly, only Linda and Iris, who were sitting right in front of him, could have noticed. "Very well. Ten points to Slytherin." At this, the Slytherin's cheered quietly. Linda couldn't help but smile. When she became the centre of attention for the right reasons, she enjoyed every second of it.

As the lesson progressed, Saxum moved slowly to the back of the classroom as Linda progressively squinted her eyes trying to see from further away. He was now holding a foe-glass, a small mirror that shows the enemies of its possessor as opposed to the viewers' reflection. Once again, Saxum asked if anyone could tell him what he was holding. Scorpius and Iris had had their chances to show-off earlier and were the only ones raising their hands at this point. Saxum remained stoic upon seeing their arms up.

"How about an encore from Miss..." Saxum glanced around the class with little effort. "Malfoy."

This time, Linda did not spit out an answer with so much confidence. She froze in her chair. All she could see was the blurry outline of Saxum and a faint indication that he was holding something up. She couldn't make it out. And now that the attention was on her, she didn't want to make her inability to see more obvious by squinting.

"I don't know sir," she replied looking downwards to avoid anyways gaze.

"I see. You almost had me fooled. Your reputation does, in fact, precede you."

Linda's face was burning, and her breaths became deeper. She struggled to remain silent as she had nothing polite to respond with. Saxum waited for her to say something, and as her lips parted, Iris whispered in her ear.

"Ignore him," she said while lightly touching her arm. Linda stopped herself immediately. She turned around and faced the front of the class. Saxum continued the lesson right away, already bored with his interaction with Linda.


	2. To See or Not to See

Linda's inability to see more than six feet in front of her became clearer by the day. So, by the end of the week, she resorted to desperate measures as an attempt to resolve her situation. She went to the library.

She hadn't exactly told Iris what was happening yet. In fact, every time Iris questioned why Linda was sitting at the front of the classes they had together, Linda would come up with a new excuse. She may have gone as far as saying that she was just trying to get people to notice Iris so she could kick-start her love life. Iris didn't even glance around the classroom before saying: "Please don't."

Linda walked into the library and crept along the rows of books searching for the section on optics and magical cures. As she carefully scanned the shelves of the "O" section, she finally found what she had been looking for: Ocular Cures. She grabbed it almost as quickly as the fresh biscuits at breakfast. Once she removed the book from its spot, she was met with a pair of blue eyes staring at her on the other side of the shelf.

"I knew it," whispered Iris's eyes and her thick blond eyebrows.

Linda jerked backwards in surprise and caught herself right before a yell could leave her mouth.

"What the hell Iris?" she said under her breath.

"Hold that thought," she replied while turning the corner and meeting Linda in the other row.

Linda just glared at her.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed glasses instead of thinking you could be an actor and lie to me every day?"

"How did you find out?"

"All I had to do was look at Albus for him to tell me everything."

Linda rolled her eyes. "Idiot."

"I won't deny that, but are you any better? What was the point of all of this?"

"I just..." Linda began in a grave tone. "I just think I would be too attractive if I got glasses, and I don't think I can deal with that kind of attention."

"Oh my god," Iris said in agony. "Why did I become friends with you?"

"Eh, because you love me," said Linda.

Iris smiled, and slowly approached Linda while holding her gaze. She went in for a hug. Linda reluctantly held her arms out, but at the last second, Iris ducked under her arm and grabbed the book from her hand. She now had her back to Linda, who, meanwhile, lost her balance and fell face-first onto the floor with a loud BANG.

"Linda!" yelled Iris like a conjuring spell which made Madame Pince appear in front of them out of thin air.

"Ladies! Silence in the library. That's your only warning. If I hear but the sound of your eyes blinking, you will be asked to leave," said Madame Pince through clenched teeth. She didn't even acknowledge that Linda was faceplanted on the ground.

Iris simply nodded, while Linda raised her arm and gave an unenthusiastic thumbs up. Once Madame Pince was gone, Iris rushed over to Linda and helped her up.

Iris bit her lip. "Are you okay?"

Linda brushed off her sleeves and scrunched her nose to check if it was okay. She sighed, "Seems like it."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I had been meaning to make a move on the floor."

Iris chuckled and led them out of the library. She slipped the book into her bag without Linda noticing.

After some convincing from Iris, Linda finally went to the infirmary while Iris went off to get some studying done. Linda was greeted by Madame Abbott, a short woman with an angular face, and blond hair tied up into a bun.

"Miss Malfoy, an unlikely sight. What can I do for you?"

Linda explained to her the impaired vision she had been experiencing for the past week. Madame Abbott reassured her that she saw this problem rather often amongst students her age and proceeded to perform a series of tests on her, as well as attempting various remedies. Linda drank potions ranging from Root Vegetable Draught to Oculus Potion. She felt like she was killing her taste buds with every sip she took, but it was worth it if it meant being cured. Madame Abbott was a very bubbly woman who rambled on about all the eye problems she had treated over the years at Hogwarts. She even mentioned a student she used to attend Hogwarts with who wore round glasses for all the years she knew him. "It's rather too bad he didn't have access to the advanced potions we have today. I participated in a lot of that research; you know? If we catch it young enough, there's plenty we can do to reverse the effects or at least stunt them from getting worse. I assure you, Miss Malfoy, we will find you a solution."

After a dozen potions, and examinations, Madame Abbott stepped back from Linda and took a long heavy look at her. Her warm demeanour seemed to have been disturbed.

"Well, I've tried every cure in the book Miss Malfoy... and I'm sorry to have to give you some bad news."

Linda had so detached herself from her presence in the room that she remained indifferent to hearing this news. She just stared at the nurse in silence.

The latter waited a few seconds for a reaction before continuing. She seemed quite shaken up. She did not like to fail a student.

"Well... Um...My dear, it seems that you are partially blind," she announced with a sympathetic voice.

Linda, who had been staring at her in a daze, now seemed more alert. "Excuse me?"

"For the moment, your farsighted vision is incurable, however, it does not seem like it will worsen anymore. It's odd, the impairment appears to be very old. I'm not sure why it hasn't materialized until now. This is quite beyond me... Now, the good news is there are enchanted glasses that adjust to the wearer's particular eyesight and may work for you. I suggest you write home. I'm sure your parents can provide you with some, and we will test them out."

Linda closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head to process all the information she had been given. She then began to laugh casually while slowly dancing on the edge of hysteria.

"Well! Great news indeed. It is what it is," she said jumping up from the cot she had been sitting on. "Thanks, Madame Abbott. I'll be off."

"Miss Malfoy! Please stay and rest. Are you sure you are alright?"

"I am fantastic. Don't worry about me!" she shouted while exiting the infirmary and running down the stairs towards the Slytherin common room in the dungeon.

Once in front of a bare stretch of stone, which served as the entrance to the common room, she whispered the password to enter: "Parseltongue". A green door materialized in front of her.

She crept along the sides of the common room and swiftly ran up the stairs to her proper dormitory. Relieved to find it empty, she pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill from the trunk in front of her bed and began to write a letter home to her mother.

As she signed her name at the end of the parchment, she noticed the end of it was ever so slightly damp. As her eyebrows creased, she felt a drop fall from her face to the parchment. She lifted her hand to her face and felt beneath her eyes.

She placed her things onto her bed and ran to the mirror in the corner of the room. She saw a tear roll down her face in the reflection. Her jaw dropped ever so slightly. She couldn't remember the last time she cried, or if she had even cried at all as a baby. She began to laugh in disbelief, but that didn't last long. Her inability to process all the weird things that were happening to her turned into a burst of anger.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" 

Linda's voice resonated into the common room as a muffled yell. The students lounging in the area looked around for the source of the noise but quickly forgot about it when the giant squid was seen swimming across the glass wall, which looked out into the Great Lake.

"I'm telling you Scorpius. The giant squid is definitely an animagus. Look at it," said none other than Alec as he pointed towards the squid. "It's looking right at us. It's watching."

"Mhm," replied Scorpius who was in the middle of writing a potions essay.

"That's how they know."

Scorpius jerked his head, now listening. He looked up at Alec.

"Know what? And who's 'they'?"

Alec snapped his fingers into a gun. "Exactly."

Scorpius just sighed and threw the parchment he was holding onto Alec's lap.

"Here's your essay."

"Oh! Nice," replied Alec completely forgetting what he was just talking about. It's like Scorpius had thrown a treat to his dog to get him to stop barking. While Alec read over his essay, Scorpius looked up at the squid but instead, he noticed a girl staring at him from across the room. She had dark skin and a large curly black head of hair. She held his gaze without reservation and then smirked before looking away. Scorpius hit Alec on the shoulder.

"Hey, what's Octavia's deal? She was looking our way."

"Conspiracy or reality?"

"Reality. Please."

"Eh. Quidditch captain and chaser. Unmerciful. Doesn't seem to know there's a grey area between love and hate. Muggleborn..." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I heard that's a cover-up, and she actually has mermaid ancestry." The mermaids live in the Great Lake and are nothing like what muggles think they are. They have dark, deep-set eyes, and a set of long fanged teeth. They are more aggressive than any quidditch beater to brace the Quidditch World Championship.

"Who said that?" asked Scorpius

"I did."

This time, Scorpius laughed, and Alec joined in.

"What? Those things are terrifying," he said. "And so is she."

The following morning, Linda dragged herself to the Great Hall for breakfast after a restless night where the only hour of sleep she had gotten had been far from peaceful. She joined Scorpius and Alec quietly at the Slytherin table. Luckily, they were busy talking about something to do with mermaids and didn't notice Linda enough to question the dark circles under her eyes.

The fresh plate of biscuits wasn't doing much for her that morning, but she thought it might be suspicious if she ignored them. Right as she was about to grab one, a flock of owls flew in through the large windows of the Great Hall carrying letters and packages. Linda's tawny owl, Arro, swooped down right on top of her plate and set down a small brown package and a letter addressed from home.

She cut off a piece of a biscuit for him and placed it in his beak. Arro ruffled his feathers in content and flew off. Linda began to open her letter.

"Are those glasses from your mum?" asked Alec.

"Seriously!?" said Linda slamming the letter on the table. "Who told you?"

"Hello!" said Iris abruptly as she sat down next to Alec.

"You told Alec?" Linda accused Iris. Iris just shook her head.

"She didn't tell me," replied Alec. "I just looked at her and figured it out."

Linda rolled her eyes and began opening her package.

"Wait... why am I the only who doesn't know what's happening?" said Scorpius after sorting through the exchange that just occurred.

Without looking his way, Linda just said: "Shut up Scorpius."

Linda pulled out a pair of round black-rimmed glasses and stared at them for a moment with furrowed brows.

Iris grabbed them from her hands and put them onto Linda's face.

"Beautiful," she said with a wide grin.

Linda smiled faintly and tried to see herself in the reflection of her spoon. She then turned around to see if her vision had improved. She was met with disappointment. The rest of the Great Hall appeared as a mere canvas of blurred silhouettes and colours.

Linda pulled them off. "They don't work."

"Put them back on. They just take a while to adjust. And in your case, the damage is pretty severe. You just have to be patient. Trust me. My gran had a pair."

Linda pouted and slowly put her glasses back on.

"Alright! Thoughts on Saxum? Let's go. Am I right or am I right?" said Alec taking advantage of the half a second of silence to hijack the conversation.

"You mean Professor Douchebag?" said Linda.

"No, no, it's pronounced d-eath-eat-er," he replied while carefully mouthing each syllable.

"A-lec. I'm. Not. Deaf. I'm. Blind!"

"Is that your new conspiracy?" asked Iris with concern. "That Saxum's a Death Eater? What makes you think that?"

Alec said nothing and looked at Iris while combing his hair through his fingers.

"His scar?" she said, intrigued.

"How?" asked Linda totally befmused by how they communicated.

"Telepathy," both Alec and Iris answered at the same time.

"That's it. I can only deal with one of you at a time," said Linda as she got up from the table. "Have fun talking about Professor D."

"I think he's brilliant," Scorpius said while looking up from his textbook.

"Spare me." Linda marched down the room and left with the her unopened letter.

Iris furrowed her bold brows and shot Scorpius a menacing glance. His eyes widened and he immediately went back to his book.


	3. Tricks and Treats

One evening as the season faded into fall, Linda was sitting with Albus and Iris in the courtyard as they discussed their upcoming essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Linda quickly tuned out of the conversation as she heard heavy approaching footsteps from behind her. Scorpius quickly came into view and began yelling at Iris, but it was odd, despite his proximity and his booming voice, Linda couldn't make out what he was saying. Before she could think about it any further, her friend had gotten up from beside her and menacingly pointed her wand at her brother. Linda tried to move but felt herself being grabbed from around the neck. She clawed at the arms that were enabling her from moving as Scorpius raised his wand. Suddenly, a flash of green light lit up the courtyard, and she heard a muffled yell, as well as her own.

"NOO!" she shrieked.

Linda woke up in a panic as she tried to catch her breath. Again, there was an unfamiliar sensation on her cheeks. She brought her hand to her face and felt more tears. She grabbed a tissue from her bedside table and wiped the tears off her face. It was the middle of the night, and she needed plenty of sleep for the first trip of the year to Hogsmeade in the morning.

She lay in her bed missing the feeling of bliss that she used to experience when she would first wake up in the morning. It was those few seconds between unconsciousness and consciousness where she woke up before her thoughts. Nothing could matter in those few seconds. To Linda, this was where the true meaning of the word peace came from. Morning bliss had left her ever since she began having nightmares so much so that she dreaded falling asleep, and even worse, she began to wish that when she did sleep, that she wouldn't wake up at all.

The feeling of dread and unknown she had when waking up was enough to suffocate her. She could barely remember her dreams, but the emotions she experienced did not leave her. It was the opposite of morning bliss. Instead of waking up before her emotions, it's as if they woke up first. They were the light shining through the curtains that woke her up and stayed with her all day.

It was currently three in the morning, and she knew sleeping was not in the cards for a while. She did what she always did. She began to daydream about memories to ease the visceral pain on her heart by replacing them with nostalgic feelings from as far away as possible.

She began to think of Albus.

Suddenly, Linda was eleven years old again, riding the Hogwarts Express for the first time. She was in a compartment sitting across from her brother, Scorpius. They were best friends and had never known anything outside of spending time with each other. Scorpius wasn't too comfortable with change and was happy to continue to stick with Linda. Linda, on the other hand, was eager to meet new people. Hogwarts was a whole new world for her to discover.

"Mum is going to cry for days," said Scorpius as he lounged onto the length of his seat.

"And dad's going to rejoice for years," replied Linda as she placed her trunk in the overhead compartment.

After the train began to move, a young boy with straight black hair and vibrant green eyes poked his head shyly into the compartment.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, I can't seem to find my brother. Do you mind if I sit here?" he said barely able to look at Linda.

"Sure!" Linda replied, excited to already see a new face.

"I'm Albus," he said as he sat down beside her. He would not have opted to be so close to her, but Scorpius was taking up all the room on the other side. He was already fast asleep. He had spent all night with anxiety about leaving home for the first time, but of course, he would never admit that especially since Linda would have teased him about it for ages.

"Linda," she replied with an amiable smile. "And the waste of space over there is Scorpius." But to her disappointment, she got no reaction from her brother. He was completely unconscious. Albus chuckled bashfully. That's when he met her gaze for the first time. The cold compartment suddenly felt like a toasted living room, warmth emanating from an imaginary fireplace. That's how she has felt around him ever since.

"Is it your first year too?" she continued.

"It is. Are you nervous about the sorting? It's been keeping me up at night."

"No." Linda was surprised by his honesty. "I hadn't really thought about it. My whole family's been in Slytherin. I just assumed it would be the same for me."

"Really? I was actually afraid of ending up in Slytherin but... my dad told me my middle name was that of one of the bravest Slytherin's he's ever known. Not that I could ever live up to that!" he added humbly. "But I guess, having met you... it wouldn't be so bad."

"Don't worry. We're not all bad."

Albus' face flushed with embarrassment. He was almost as red as the Gryffindor colours. Linda knew he would be a Gryffindor. He had, after all, entered a compartment with strangers, and opened up to one within a few minutes of leaving home for a year. He was no coward.

"Is he your brother?" Albus jerked his hand towards Scorpius.

Linda held herself back from saying "unfortunately." Instead, she simply responded, "He is. We're twins."

"Oh," said Albus puzzled.

Linda chuckled. "Yea, we get that a lot."

The two new friends talked for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts. Scorpius only woke up when his nostrils were filled with the scent from the sweets on the passing trolley. At their arrival, the three of them gazed out the window in awe at the sight of Hogwarts castle. It never ceases to amaze Linda when she sees it every year after the long summer vacation.

After the first year's scenic boat rides up to the school, they gathered in front of the entrance to the Great Hall where they were greeted by Professor McGonagall. They filed inside where they could see the old sorting hat that most of them had heard so much about sitting on a stool at the end of the hall. After the old wizarding hat sang his new sorting song, names were called one by one to be sorted. When Linda was finally called, she glanced at Albus and gave him a confident nod. His eyes glossed over with worry when he heard her name. McGonagall placed the hat on Linda's head as she sat on the stool.

"Been a while since I've had a Malfoy," mumbled the Sorting Hat so that only she could hear. "Interesting you are... well, you're definitely suited for – SLYTHERIN!" he exclaimed for everyone to hear. The Slytherin table roared with cheers, proud to have another new member. A minute later, to no one's surprise, Scorpius joined the same table next to Linda.

Shortly after, a familiar name was called: "Potter, Albus."

Linda heard his name like a thunderbolt. She had grown up hearing a lot about the Potters from her father. He did not hate them, but there was always an underlying air of disdain when Draco spoke of them. Scorpius had strongly picked up on it and found pride in being like his father.

Linda didn't even have to look at Scorpius to know what he was thinking. She could feel the scorn fueling up inside of him. He turned to her, and muttered under his breath, "Did she just say Potter!?"

Linda turned to him. That was the first time she looked at Scorpius and didn't see her brother. She saw him for who he was. She left everything she knew behind when she boarded the train, including the way she saw Scorpius. She didn't need him anymore. 

"Yes, I believe she did."

"Well, I hope you know the Malfoys and Potters are not friends."

The warmth she had felt within her turned ice cold. The fire had been put out. She could feel her heart begin to race as she considered what to say.

"Well if the Malfoys are still hung up on events from decades ago, then I suppose I'm not much of one," Linda retorted.

Before Scorpius had a chance to reply, the Gryffindor table filled the room with their applause as Albus approached them and took a seat next to a similar-looking boy. Albus looked up at her wearily, and Linda shot him a wide-tooth grin and joined the applauding. Albus' eye's brightened. And with this last memory, the pain on Linda's chest had subsided, and she fell back to sleep. 

Linda admired the once green leaves that had transformed into small red flames budding at the end of each tree branch. She almost bumped into Iris who was walking in front of her on their way to Hogsmeade. Iris rambled on about all the places she planned to go that day. Linda merely replied with "yes" every few seconds, while Albus, who was walking next to her, left the work up to her.

Their first stop of the day was Honeyduke's Sweetshop, which never failed to make Linda drool. The endless colorful shelves stacked full of the best sweets were mesmerising. It's practically impossible to walk in without getting your hands on something. The three of them picked up some Acid pops, every flavoured beans, chocolate frogs, and Linda's favorite, cauldron cakes. She made sure to get enough to last until their next trip. Albus almost had to drag her out of the shop, but he would never do that. He lightly pushed her, and then not so lightly, for her to snap out of her trance. Linda walked out grinning from ear to ear, which was rare those days, but Honeydukes never failed to cheer her up. And when Linda was happy so was Albus. Iris, on the other hand, was difficult to read, and she seemed rather preoccupied that day.

"Let's get a move on. I've got to be back in time for my meeting with Saxum," said Iris.

"Ugh. How can you stand to be around him more than you have to?" Linda replied as politely as she could.

"We have O.W.L examinations this year. I have to be prepared."

Linda mimicked Iris behind her back for Albus to see. He smiled timidly.

"Since when do you ask for help?" Albus dared to point out.

Iris turned around and gave him a blank stare. "Priorities." Albus squealed.

Iris announced that their next destination was Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Linda decided to break off from the group and head to Zonko's Joke Shop instead. She didn't want to spend her time being reminded that she had homework to get back to. This was the first time in weeks she felt free from her anxieties. She had even forgotten that her glasses still hadn't adjusted to her eyesight. She was pretty reluctant to wear them, as they felt rather useless. The only reason she did wear them was that Iris was always on her case about it. Having some time to herself, where she could take them off, didn't sound so bad.

Linda never knew what to expect when she visited Zonko's. There were always new contraptions and prank sets to discover. However, the surprise she got that day was quite different. She made her way inside and noticed only one other person was there across the room. Though she couldn't technically make out who it was, there was only one boy she knew with hair that blond, which was all she could see. She hesitated before approaching her brother.

"Dungbombs? Getting mum a Christmas gift?" Linda said cheekily.

Scorpius jumped. The Dungbomb he was holding almost slipped from his hands.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed.

"Good to see you too. I'll be off then."

"Wait!" said Scorpius before he could stop himself. "Um... did you see the new sugar quills?"

Linda smiled faintly. She lifted her hand. She had already grabbed a handful on the way inside.

"Iris is at Scrivenshaft's getting new quills. I'm going to replace them all with these before her meeting with Saxum."

"I hope it melts all over her hand and he refuses to meet with her again. Why should she get extra help? I succeed all on my own."

"Whatever you say, as long as it gets on him."

Scorpius shifted his weight. "He might deserve that."

With a jolt of excitement, Linda pointed to the Dungbomb in his hand. "Can we set that off in his office?"

"That's taking it too far."

Linda waved him off, and turned away, missing the flicker of regret in his eyes.

"I just... need to save them for Christmas. You know, for when dad starts arguing with Grandad," he said.

Linda chuckled. "He's literally arguing with himself. I swear, they're the same person."

"Seriously. And why is it that we can't have one peaceful meal as a family? Is it so hard?"

Linda paused on that comment. She knew what Scorpius said was true, but the thing is, the two of them had become no different from the rest of their family.

"I don't think we've had one meal together in the last five years without bickering."

This caught Scorpius off guard.

"Bickering? We're just calling out Alec's crazy theorems that we've been listening to for ages."

"Sure." Linda wasn't willing to push that topic any further. She had been having a good day and was holding onto her glee like a fresh biscuit. Come to think of Alec, she wondered why he wasn't with Scorpius. 

"Where is Alec?"

"He doesn't have a permission slip."

"His parents still haven't signed it?

Scorpius shook his head. "He says they worry so much that he'd rather not go than cause them a heart-attack. Sounds like they'd die of worry before anything 'bad' could even happen to him."

"Crazy. He'd love it here."

Scorpius put the Dungbomb back on the shelf and picked up a package of extendable ears, as well as an invisible ink pen.

"I actually came in here for these."

Linda gave him a quizzical look. "Well, that's no fun."

"I was just --"

The front door of the shop chimed as it swung open. Albus walked in looking like a coat hanger. Large shopping bags were hanging off both his arms.

"Linda! Are you -- Oh." He noticed Scorpius. "Um... sorry. Just came to see if you were ready to head back."

"Yea, yea. I'm coming! I'll see you later then Scorpius," Linda said with a sympathetic smile.

Scorpius' nostrils flared, and he glared at Albus as Linda walked away. She paid quickly for her sugar quills before dashing over to Albus to help him with the bags that were currently making him lose a fight with gravity. "Early Christmas shopping?" she said as she lightened the load.

Albus sighed, relieved. "No. It's all Iris' stuff."

"Did she buy out all of Hogsmeade?" Linda said perplexed as they left the store.

"Probably. Just please never leave me again," begged Albus.

"Tempting. I'll consider it." Linda said before shoving Albus, which made him almost fall under all the bags. He fumbled through what looked like an interpretive dance trying to save himself. He knew Iris would kill him if he broke anything. Linda knew that too, which is why she burst into laughter watching his desperate attempt to not fall over. She laughed so hard she was crying.

"You'll pay for that!" growled Albus.

"Can't. I've got not money," said Linda wiping away her tears of joy.


	4. In Plain Sight

Red, yellow, and orange leaves were falling from the enchanted Great Hall ceiling as Linda entered for breakfast. The animosity between she and her brother had diminished by about the equivalency to her last History of Magic quiz. In other words, not by much. Linda wasn't a bad student, but Professor Bins' drawling monologues about the meticulous details of The Giant Wars were enough to kill her. She compromised by sleeping, because she knew if she let herself pass away that she'd just end up in a purgatory of listening to Bins talk for eternity. Recently, however, the problem was that she was too afraid of having one of her nightmares in class if she fell asleep. So, her last class, she had decided not to show up at all. Unfortunately for her, there was a pop quiz that day. Iris managed to write Linda's name on a copy of the test, which had granted her all but one point. Thus, her relationship with her brother had improved by about one percent, which one could argue is optimistic considering Linda got a point on a quiz she was not in attendance for. She was just happy with what she could get.

She found Scorpius and Alec at their table as usual, or at least what she could see of Alec. He was hidden behind a large newspaper. Only the top of his slicked backed hair was visible. There was a huge headline on the cover that read "Ten Years Since Witch Precopa Sin's Disappearance". The headline would be enticing if it hadn't been four years old.

"You're reading that... again?" commented Linda.

Alec did not answer, which meant he was busy using all of his faculties to coax up some new theory about old news as he focused all his energy on the words in front of him. He made sure to do it about once a month.

"Haven't you ever thought of throwing that thing into the fireplace? You do share a dorm," Linda suggested to Scorpius.

Scorpius fiddled with the food on his plate. "I would. If I knew where he hid it."

"Yea. He probably keeps it in a vault," said Linda as she served herself some breakfast. "Like the one you keep all your perfectly graded papers in."

Scorpius stabbed a piece of sausage and sneered, "At least, I have some to store away. What've you got?"

"I've got it!" yelled Alec as he slammed the newspaper shut.

Scorpius and Linda did not even flinch. They just went on with their meals as their expectations were very low for what Alec had discovered.

"So, Precopa Sin –

"Murdered her husband 14 years ago. Yes, what's new?" mumbled Linda impatiently.

Alec was completely unfazed by the interruption. "They say she disappeared, but what does that mean exactly?"

Linda glowered at him. "It means she's dead, and they're just milking the story. There's no way she's still alive. How couldn't they have tracked her down by now?"

"They never did find a body," Scorpius pointed out.

"She's not dead. And she didn't mysteriously disappear. She's hiding, but not just anywhere..." Alec paused. His eyes widened at both his friends, as he waited for them to enquire further.

Linda decided to be charitable. "Where is she hiding Alec?"

Alec's face lit up, extremely pleased with his discovery.

"In plain sight."

This was usually when Scorpius and Linda rolled their eyes and teased Alec, but this time, they both narrowed their eyes at him in silence.

Alec was puzzled. His eyes darted between his friends, unsure of what to make of their reaction. He wasn't used to silence, which is why he always braced for the worst.

"So....?" Alec uttered.

Linda and Scorpius spoke at the same time, "What do you mean?"

"Well... it's what I always say. People tend to ignore what's right under their noses," he treaded through his answer carefully making sure they did, in fact, want to hear more. "She's not off in the middle of nowhere. She's among us. The best place to hide is the last place people would expect you to be. It's not that she hasn't been seen, it's that nobody's even considered they could have seen her."

Scorpius subconsciously checked over his shoulders as though she might be standing behind him. Linda snorted and smacked him on the arm.

"She's not at Hogwarts, you idiot."

Scorpius flinched, glaring at Linda before returning his attention to Alec. "So, what does it all mean?"

Alec sighed as he scoured through all the thoughts in his head. "Well, if she's living undetected in wizard society, then she's probably not dangerous. So, what I'm wondering is... what was the real motive behind her unique murder? Perhaps she isn't even really at fault..."

Linda smirked as she took a bite out of the biscuit of the day. It was cheese, not her favorite, but it would do. "Is this what you're so busy thinking about while Scorpius writes your essays?"

"Say it louder why don't you?" Scorpius retorted with the anger he had been holding onto since Linda had hit him. His retaliation, however, had proven unsuccessful as Alec's screech owl came swooping down and smacked Scorpius on the head with the package gripped in his talons. Scorpius groaned, and surrendered.

The small brown package was dropped on the table in front of Alec barely missing a plate full of eggs. Linda had gone back to her breakfast, slowly peering up from her food to see what Alec had gotten. Alec ripped it open to reveal a pair of Extendable Ears from Zonko's Joke shop.

Alec's eyes sparkled as though he was holding his new-born child.

Without taking his eyes off of it, "Scorp?"

Scorpius was holding his head, still in pain, "Yup. Got them for you in Hogsmeade. You said you needed some for the new contraption you were making."

Alec grinned and gave him a passionate pat on the shoulder, which Scorpius endured while trying not to flinch in his current injured condition. Alec was too thrilled to notice.

"Thank you Scorp. This is really great."

Linda was surprised by her brother's act of kindness but happier for Alec. As she put on her glasses, that still didn't work, Alec's words rang through her head, "In plain sight... in plain sight."

Linda dragged behind Iris as they walked towards her least favorite part of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts, where Saxum never missed an opportunity to provoke her. Once they made it inside the long classroom with the iron chandelier, Iris rushed to find a seat at the front, which had been their new usual spots. Linda had thought being up close would allow her to see what was going on, but for some reason, Saxum loved to move around as much as possible and seemed to enjoy the atmosphere at the back of the room. Maybe there was more airflow back there. She had noticed he seemed to sweat a lot when she could see him. This time, she made a point to be one step ahead of him.

Linda was content with the empty desks she had found in the far back corner, but one detail slipped her mind. She forgot to tell Iris to join her. When her friend's threatening eyebrows found her, Linda frantically waved her over, but it was too late. Octavia slipped into the seat next to her, and so did another student in the empty seat next to Iris. Linda shrugged at what she could see of Iris' glaring eyes as the bell rang and Professor Saxum stormed out of his office and into the room.

The lesson started with a collaborative reading from their textbooks, which Linda was thankful for, because, despite her efforts, Saxum had now decided he preferred the foreground of the room. At least he wouldn't be asking her to name an object she couldn't see for the time being.

Seated beside her was one of her roommates, Octavia Greene, whom she mostly kept away from since their first year. She had large curly black hair and a distinguishing beauty mark under her lip that seems so purposefully placed. Octavia always had a purpose, which is why Linda felt quite intimidated being so close to her. There was a reason Octavia was captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. She knew how to get she wanted, and definitely didn't let people get in her way. Linda couldn't focus as Octavia was fidgeting under her desk and glancing up at Saxum as if she were anxiously waiting for something.

During their reading about Vampires, Linda thought Octavia had been jotting down class notes until she was nudged on the shoulder. Octavia slipped a note onto her desk.

The spidery pencilled note read: Set me up with Scorpius?

Linda thought her eyes had rolled out of her skull but unfortunately, she could still see Octavia sitting next to her when she turned her head.

She spoke under her breath, "Why?" lost at what she could possibly see in him. "And what do you expect me to do?"

Octavia blinked slowly, "You're his sister... aren't you?" As though it was obvious what she wanted.

"Here's a full proof strategy. Speak to him yourself," Linda grumbled as she put her nose back into her book. She could sense the fumes from Octavia's scowl on her cheek, which made her feel slightly guilty.

"I'm hosting a snack poker game in the common room tonight. He'll be in a good mood."

Octavia stuck her nose up. "Alright."

"Why didn't you just sit next to him?"

Octavia bit her lip, "He's too attached to his boyfriend."

Linda couldn't help but laugh as she looked over at Alec and Scorpius sitting together on the other end of the room. Their friendship always seemed slightly off, but they had stuck together all these years. Scorpius would probably never laugh if it weren't for Alec, and Alec would never get anything practical done without Scorpius. Linda always had a soft spot for Alec, even though she wasn't very forgiving with his nonsense, he felt like family. He was family. If only Scorpius could open up like that with Albus and Iris.

Linda snapped out of her stream of thoughts when the class fell silent. Professor Saxum had stopped in the middle of his reading.

"Is there a reason you aren't following along Linda?" Linda was caught off guard upon hearing her name. She could barely see Professor Saxum from so far. "Your fifth year O.W.L. examinations won't write themselves. You should be taking your classes more seriously instead of gazing off into nothing."

Heat rose to Linda's head from within her, and her lips moved before she could stop herself. "You might want to take your job more seriously professor, if you don't want to get sacked for harassing a student."

Thirty pair of eyes were now staring at her from all directions; they looked like cats in the dark. Some had expressions of shock, others looked in admiration.

Saxum's expression did not change. "Another comment like that will land you with a month's worth of detention. May I continue my lesson now?"

Linda's nostrils flared as she prepared to answer, but she caught sight of Iris' blurred face at the front of the room. She could just picture her furrowed brows, which made her think twice about retaliating.

As soon as the lesson was dismissed, Linda burst out of her seat, promptly threw her things in her messenger bag, and stormed off, leaving Iris in her wake. Albus knew how difficult Defense Against the Dark Arts had been for Linda and began waiting for her in a nook at the end of the third floor. Students moved out of her way as she bolted menacingly down the corridor. When she spotted Albus' black hair, her tense shoulders relaxed, and she dropped her bag on the floor beside him.

Albus was holding a container of sweets including cauldron cakes, chocolate chip biscuits, and cookies. Linda couldn't help but smile, but it didn't last long. Her body was battling between the ice cold feeling she was always left with upon interacting with Saxum and the warmth she felt when she was with Albus. The more she tried to hold it in, the more it boiled up inside of her until she couldn't contain it any longer.

"I HATE EVERYTHING!"

Albus frantically opened his container, and handed Linda a cookie, "What happened?"

The sight of the lightly browned chocolate cookie began to melt away the walls she had built up around her.

As she accepted Albus' offering, her fingers grazed the palm of his hand and made the last layer around her disappear.

She split the cookie in half and gave one of the two pieces to him. She studied his face and noticed the single curl of black hair on his forehead that escaped from the rest of the tousled mane. He could never completely contain his hair, but he was pretty good at containing himself. When Albus is deeply worried, the only way to know is that after disappearing for a bit he pops up again with a batch of sweets. Only Linda knew where he went in those moments, and perhaps only she really cared.

Upon seeing the desserts he was carrying, she was stabbed in the gut with guilt because she knew he was there for her, but clearly, he had something on his mind too that she had neglected to notice until now.

After devouring the cookie, Linda stepped towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Albus's eyes rounded as he finished chewing his half of the cookie.

Linda jerked her head at the container he was holding, "What's going on Albus?"

Albus gulped, taken aback.

"Was there not enough sugar?"

Linda stared at him unamused, "You know they were perfect." She wouldn't let him cheat her question. "What's wrong?"

Albus sighed. His shoulders tensed as he slid his hand in his pocket.

He looked about everywhere but into Linda's eyes, "There's just a girl I know... that's been worrying me. And this one time... she chose me, you know? And now she's having a hard time, and I haven't been able to do the same."

There were no more walls for her to tear down around her, so his words had gone straight to her heart. Linda hung onto every word as if they were made out of glass. She placed them gently on her chest which rose and fell in tandem with the rhythm of his voice. An unfamiliar feeling welled up inside of her and blurred her vision.

"Are you okay?" Albus exclaimed as he had never seen her cry. "I said something wrong, didn't I?"

Linda chuckled as she wiped the tears forming in her eyes.

"No, you're just an idiot," she said locking eyes with him. "And so am I."

She wrapped her hands around the nape of his neck and pulled him in, brushing her lips against his. Albus jerked backwards and dropped the container from his hand. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around the small of her back and leaning into her as they kissed again.

The world shifted by a fraction, as they shared a breath, and the taste of chocolate on each other's lips. They felt whole.

Linda was too enraged upon leaving her class that she had forgotten about Iris. It was no matter because Iris had no intention of following her. Saxum had discreetly asked to see her after class as he had done a few times beforehand. These meetings had been easily passed off as extra help sessions for the subject as she had previously lend on Linda to think.

Once all the students had left the room, Saxum spoke, though still very vigilant about his surroundings to make sure he wasn't overheard. His expression was unrelentingly austere.

"You had a bit of a mishap today."

Iris took a deep breath as she centered herself to match his solid assurance, "I know. I'm sorry about that professor, I'll be more careful about making sure Linda sits with me."

"Good, I trust you. That is why I approached you for this task. Now, we have an issue. Do you know of your fellow fifth year Alec Cunningham?"

"I know of him, yes," she said inconspicuously. "He is friends with Scorpius, I believe."

"Yes. Indeed," said Saxum while taking a moment to study her face. "Well, I have recently become aware of his guilty pleasure. There have been rumours that I am a Death Eater. I will assume if you had known, you would have come to me immediately, yes?"

Iris' expression was indecipherable, "I am just as surprised to hear that as you are Professor. I would have definitely notified you."

"You and I both know that my stay at Hogwarts is crucial. I trust you will confront M. Cunningham and assure he puts an end to these rumors. I cannot spare a single lie threatening my job."

Iris hesitated for a split second, acknowledging what Saxum had just said before regaining her strict composure.

"Of course, professor, I will take care of it."


End file.
